Fjarðarheiði being cleared of snow last year.
Photo/Ómar B.
The executive council of Múlaþing expresses tremendous disappointment that the Fjarðarheiði Tunnel has been pushed further back in the queue of upcoming tunnel projects in Iceland, and has requested an urgent meeting with the constituency’s Members of Parliament.
In the council’s statement, it is noted that it has long been clear that the winter isolation of Seyðisfjörður needs to be eliminated with a tunnel, not least because of avalanche risk. Around 600 million ISK has already been spent on research and design for the tunnel, which is fully designed and ready to be put out to tender.
“Fjarðagöng— which the Minister of Infrastructure proposes to place in positions 2–3 on the tunnel priority list — will not on their own create a safe ring connection in East Iceland, because Fjarðarheiði and Fagridalur will continue to pose travel barriers between Hérað and the fjords due to impassable conditions and avalanche danger in Fagridalur,” the statement reads. It also notes that one of the main premises for the establishment of Múlaþing municipality was improved transportation within the region via the Fjarðarheiði Tunnel and the Öxi route.